Mr Shah (left) and Dr Rands in a hand after signing the agreement

Birdlife International and its local affiliate, Nature Seychelles, formalised an agreement Wednesday August 6  for £44,200 in funding to be used for the management of the country’s Important Bird Areas (IBAs).

Dr Mike Rands, chief executive of Birdlife International, and Nirmal Jivan Shah, chief executive of Nature Seychelles, signed the agreement at Aarti Chambers in Mont Fleuri Wednesday August 7.

Mr Shah said that the money will help protect the 20 identified IBAs in Seychelles, with specific mention of Cousin, Cousine and Aride.  IBAs, he said, are important not only for the protection of birds, but also for other species, vegetation and their surrounding marine communities.

Specifically, Mr Shah said the funds will provide equipment for the day-to-day management of the IBAs and the production of educational and awareness materials about these important areas.

Some of the funding could also go toward assisting some of the private islands currently undertaking rat eradication projects, where new populations of birds could be established once the islands become suitable.

Developed by Birdlife International, the IBA mechanism was the first international system that classified areas around the world according to their ecological importance.  There are now more than 7,000 IBAs worldwide.

“Our aim is to try and make sure that we identify IBAs, protect them and support the local communities and the people who live in and around such places, so that we can conserve them forever,” Dr Rands said.

Birdlife International’s funding pledge coincides with the 35th anniversary of Birdlife International’s presence in Seychelles, when it purchased Cousin Island and declared it a nature reserve in 1968. 

“It’s a great honour, 35 years later, that we are renewing this great bond of friendship and partnership with Birdlife International,” Mr Shah said.

Dr Rands said that Cousin, considered to be a highly successful venture in the eyes of the international conservation community, has been used as a model by Birdlife International’s partners in other countries to create similar nature reserves.

Birdlife International is the world’s largest conservation network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), with partner NGOs in 65 countries.

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